At HVCC, a ticket to ride in bus offer

Officials say the CDTA plan will enhance rider access, includes perks

Updated 9:40 am, Wednesday, May 1, 2013

A CDTA bus pulls up to a bus stop in front of the ShopRite on Central Ave. on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 in Albany, N.Y. Transit authority has seen ridership climb thanks in large part to its universal access program, which has encouraged people who get bus passes as an employee perk to use them for more than just commuting. ShopRite encourages this program with their employees. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

A CDTA bus pulls up to a bus stop in front of the ShopRite on...

CDTA Chief Executive Officer Carm Basile announces a special program that will offer transportation solutions and enhance employee mobility for ShopRite store associates during a press conference on at ShopRite Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

CDTA Chief Executive Officer Carm Basile announces a special...

A CDTA bus stop in front of the ShopRite on Central Ave. on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 in Albany, N.Y. Transit authority has seen ridership climb thanks in large part to its universal access program, which has encouraged people who get bus passes as an employee perk to use them for more than just commuting. ShopRite encourages this program with their employees. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

A CDTA bus stop in front of the ShopRite on Central Ave. on...

A CDTA bus stop in front of the ShopRite on Central Ave. on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 in Albany, N.Y. Transit authority has seen ridership climb thanks in large part to its universal access program, which has encouraged people who get bus passes as an employee perk to use them for more than just commuting. ShopRite encourages this program with their employees. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The morning rush hour was over, except for students at Hudson Valley Community College. On Tuesday, a single line of cars stretched from the school down the Morrison Avenue hill, around the corner south across the Menands Bridge nearly to Interstate 787. Most cars contained just the driver.

Next fall, HVCC will be among the latest schools to offer students an alternative: a bus pass that could reduce traffic jams and the need for additional on-campus parking.

Those students will also be able to use the passes — part of the Capital District Transportation Authority's universal access program — for personal errands — trips to the shopping mall, theaters or grocery stores — saving gas and wear and tear on their cars.

CDTA signed a two-year contract with HVCC — the terms weren't disclosed — that turns the student ID card into a bus pass.

The universal access program, along with BusPlus, CDTA's bus rapid transit service, has boosted the authority's ridership to levels last seen in the early 1980s. Universal access now accounts for one of every five riders.

"The word is spreading that this is a good way to provide mobility" to students commuting to campus, to internships or to jobs, said Carm Basile, CDTA's CEO.

Employers are beginning to embrace the program; ShopRite offers the benefit to its employees.

For CDTA, the additional ridership can justify additional service, improving convenience for passengers.

"As you respond to demand for services at a college, the community at large benefits," Basile said. "That service is available for them as well."

When Siena College joined the program, it sought expanded hours of service, said Cassy Jane Werking, who sought the bus benefit for students when she served as student senate president.

"That was the hallmark of my administration," she said Tuesday, "a need to have cost-effective and safe transportation."

Siena freshmen, who aren't permitted to have cars on campus, benefitted from the program as did commuter students, she said.

And the bus service has helped trigger other improvements, including a new sidewalk between the bus stop and the campus. Other sidewalks are being planned to link Siena to Newton Plaza and other shops farther north along Route 9, the main thoroughfare passing the campus.

A healthy public transit system also can serve as an asset in economic development, providing an alternative for those who may not want to drive or who don't have a car.

The bus service is proving popular with students, Werking, now a senior, added. "It seems like it's running very smoothly."

For individual students, it provides an alternative that they may rely on even after they've graduated.

"You're forming habits and patterns," Basile said, adding that the generation now in college is "proving to us to be much more sustainable."

Werking plans to go to graduate school next year at the University at Albany. One big plus: It too participates in CDTA's universal access program.